Communication method of node overhearing content in content centric network and node

ABSTRACT

Provided is a communication method of a node overhearing content in a content centric network (CCN) and the node, the communication method including, overhearing a content transmitted from a neighboring node, caching the overheard content, and providing the overheard content, in response to receiving a content request packet requesting the overheard content.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/300,365 filed on Jun. 10, 2014 which claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. § 119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0066716, filedon Jun. 11, 2013, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Exemplary embodiments relate to a communication method of a nodeoverhearing content in a content centric network (CCN) and the node.

2. Description of Related Art

In a manner contrary to Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking in whichsource and destination addresses are used, a name-based network such asa content centric network (CCN) involves representing a name of adesired content in a header of a packet. In this instance, each routerconfigures a routing table to forward the packet to a location in whichthe content is placed, based on the name of the content written in thepacket header. All networking devices including the routers store thecontent in a cache storage such as a content store (CS).

When a networking device receives a content request packet, thenetworking device conducts a search of a cache storage of the networkingdevice by the name of the content in the packet header, and when thecontent is present in the cache storage, transmits the content to arequester in a form of a packet carrying the content. The name-basednetwork may reduce an average transmission path and a total networkusage because the name-based network allows an intermediate node, ratherthan an original owner, to provide an immediate reply when thecorresponding content is present in a cache storage of the intermediatenode.

SUMMARY

In one general aspect, there is provided a communication method of anode in a content centric network (CCN), the communication methodincluding overhearing a content transmitted from a neighboring node,caching the overheard content, and providing the overheard content, inresponse to receiving a content request packet requesting the overheardcontent.

The overhearing may include verifying whether an entry matched to a nameof the overheard content is present by referring to a management tablestoring entries including a name of at least one content, anddetermining whether to forward the overheard content, based on a resultof the verification.

The determining of whether to forward the overheard content may includeexerting control to forward the overheard content to a pre-cachingfilter, when the entry matched to the name of the overheard content isabsent in the management table.

The caching of the overheard content may include caching the overheardcontent irrespective of whether the node receives the content requestpacket.

The caching of the overheard content may include caching the overheardcontent based on whether the overheard content corresponds to a contentfor a particular purpose.

The particular purpose may include at least one of unicast traffic,multicast traffic, and broadcast traffic.

The caching of the overheard content may include caching the overheardcontent in a content store (CS) of the node.

The communication method may further include filtering the overheardcontent based on a name of the content.

The name of the content may include information associated with at leastone of a location, a situation, and a service related to the content.

The filtering may include forwarding the overheard content to thepre-caching module when the name of the overheard content matches acontent name for filtering.

The filtering may include forwarding the overheard content to a pendinginterest table (PIT) of the node when the name of the overheard contentdoes not match the content name for filtering.

In another general aspect, there is provided a node in a CCN based on aname of a content, the communication method including an overhearingmodule to overhear a content transmitted from a neighboring node, and apre-caching module to cache the overheard content.

The overhearing module may include a management table to store entriesincluding a name of at least one overheard content, and the overhearingmodule may determine whether to forward the overheard content based onwhether an entry matched to a name of the overheard content is presentin the management table.

The overhearing module may exert control to forward the overheardcontent to a pre-caching filter, when the entry matched to the name ofthe overheard content is absent in the management table.

The pre-caching module may cache the overheard content irrespective ofwhether the node receives a content request packet.

The pre-caching module may pre-cache the overheard content based onwhether the overheard content corresponds to a content for a particularpurpose.

The particular purpose may include at least one of unicast traffic,multicast traffic, and broadcast traffic.

The node may further include a pre-caching filter to filter theoverheard content based on a name of the content.

The pre-caching filter may forward the overheard content to thepre-caching module when the name of the overheard content matches acontent name for filtering, and the pre-caching filter may forward theoverheard content to a PIT when the name of the overheard content doesnot match the content name for filtering.

Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following detaileddescription, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating operation of a content centric network(CCN) layer in a case of a plurality of content requesters requestingcontent in a wireless network environment according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a method of processing a contentrequest packet in a node in a CCN according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a CCN layer forproviding an overheard content in a CCN according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method of a node in aCCN according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method of a node in aCCN according to another exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method of a node in aCCN according to still another exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a node in a CCN according to anexemplary embodiment.

Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwisedescribed, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood torefer to the same elements, features, and structures. The relative sizeand depiction of these elements may be exaggerated for clarity,illustration, and convenience.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail withreference to accompanying drawings. The exemplary embodiments may beembodied in various forms without being limited to the exemplaryembodiments set forth herein. Like reference numerals refer to the likeelements throughout.

Hereinafter, a node may be understood as including a networking device,for example, a customer electronics (CE) device such as user equipment(UE), an access point, a router, and the like. The CE device include,for example, smart phones, smart TVs, personal computers (PCs), laptopcomputers, robot cleaners, and the like. A content centric network (CCN)may be a type of information centric networking describing variousnetworking architectures in which a content is fetched based on a nameof the content, and the following disclosure may be equally applied toan information centric network as well as a CCN.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating operation of a CCN layer in a case of aplurality of content requesters requesting content in a wireless networkenvironment according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, a protocol operation method in a CCN is centeredaround transmitting a content request packet and receiving content inresponse to the packet. When an arbitrary node, for example, a pluralityof content requesters 130, transmits a content request packet in awireless environment, a content owner 110 may transmit a content inresponse to the packet.

When the plurality of content requesters 130 requests the contentconcurrently from the content owner 110 in the wireless networkenvironment and the content owner 110 responds to the request, trafficmay be concentrated on the content owner 110. A processing delay causedby the content owner 110 processing and responding to all the requestsmay result in transmission delay of the content.

In a case of requests from the plurality of content requesters 130, thecontent owner 110 or an intermediate node may perform broadcast ormulticast, thereby improving a content transmission rate.

Even though the content is broadcast to all the nodes, in this example,the plurality of content requesters 130 in a CCN layer, the content maybe dropped before processing of the content request packet requestingthe corresponding content. Before reception of the content requestpacket, the content may be dropped rather than being cached even thoughthe broadcast content is received at the node.

When the same content is requested from the plurality of contentrequesters 130 concurrently, a bottle neck phenomenon may occur in thecontent owner 110, and accordingly, broadcast or multicast may berequired. However, the content transmitted via broadcast may not be usedin the CCN layer until the content request packet is received. Areceiving rate may be reduced due to low transmission reliability ofbroadcast or multicast in the wireless network environment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a method of processing a contentrequest packet in a node in a CCN according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, an example of processing a content request packetin a CCN as an example of an information-based network is illustrated.

A node 200 included in a CCN may include a face 0 201, a face 1 203, aface 2 connected to an application, a content store (CS) 210, a pendinginterest table (PIT) 230, and a forwarding information base (FIB) 250.The term “face” refers to a path through which a content request packetis received, and may be interchangeable with the term “interface”.

When a content request packet requesting a content corresponding to aname, for example, “/ABC.com/mwjang/abc.avi/v_3/s_2” generated at aneighboring node or an application layer arrives at a CCN layer via theface 0 201, the node 200 performs processing by transmitting the contentrequest packet to the CS 210, the PIT 230, and the FIB 250 in asequential order.

The node 200 conducts a search to determine whether the correspondingcontent is present in the CS 210. When the corresponding content or datais present in the CS 210, the node 200 transmits a response message, forexample, a packet carrying the content, via the face 0 201 through whichthe content request packet is received, in response to the contentrequest packet.

When the corresponding content is absent in the CS 210, the node 200verifies whether an entry stored with the same name of the content ispresent in the PIT 230. To verify whether the same content requestmessage is currently being processed, the node 200 verifies whether thecorresponding entry is present in the PIT 230.

When the entry stored with the same name of the content is present inthe PIT 230, as shown in FIG. 2, the node 200 adds, to the correspondingentry, information associated with the face on which the content requestpacket comes in, that is, a requesting face, in this example, the face 0201, to recall a direction in which the content request message isreceived.

When the corresponding entry is absent in the PIT 230, the node 200determines a direction in which the content request packet is to beforwarded through FIB lookup, and forwards the content request packet toa next node.

In this example, the node 200 performs a name-based lookup in the FIB250. The node 200 conducts a search for information associated with aprefix of the content name and a prefix registered in an entry of theFIB 250, using longest prefix matching, for example, “/ABC.com”.

The node 200 determines a face to be used to forward the content requestpacket, in this example, the face 1 203, based on information registeredin the FIB 250, and forwards the content request packet via the face 1203.

In this example, the node 200 registers, in the PIT 230, information ‘0’regarding the incoming face 0 201 via which the content request packetis received. Registration is performed to transmit a data packetincluding the corresponding content to a node requesting thecorresponding content via the incoming face 0 201 when the data packetis received at future instances.

When selecting a face to be used to forward the content request packetbased on the FIB 250, the node 200 may exclude the face via which thecontent request packet is received, in this example, the face 0 201 fromface candidates, to avoid a phenomenon in which the content requestpacket is transmitted iteratively, for example, a loop.

When the node 200 receives the content, in particular, the contentrequested through the content request packet after forwarding thecontent request packet to the next node, the node 200 examines whetheran entry matched to the content request packet is present by referringto the PIT 230.

When the matched entry is present in the PIT 230, the node 230 forwardsthe corresponding content in the direction in which the content requestpacket is received, and caches the received corresponding content in theCS 210.

According to circumstances, the node 200 may receive the content beforethe content request packet generated at the neighboring node or theapplication layer arrives at the CCN layer. In this instance, in the CCNlayer, the node 200 drops the corresponding content because records ofmessages requesting the corresponding content, for example, records ofentries of the PIT 230, are absent.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a CCN layer forproviding an overheard content in a CCN according to an exemplaryembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, in a wireless environment, a CCN layer may allowcontent overhearing of a neighboring node or application layer ({circlearound (1)}). Also, the CCN layer may allow pre-caching of the overheardcontent in a CS ({circle around (2)}). Subsequently, the CNN layer mayreceive a content request packet, also referred to as an interest,generated from the application layer or the neighboring node ({circlearound (3)}). When a content required by the content request packetmatches the content pre-cached in the CS, the CCN layer may provide thecontent cached in the CS to the neighboring node or the applicationlayer ({circle around (4)}).

According to an exemplary embodiment, the CCN layer may provide thecontent more quickly by enabling internal processing of the contentrequest packet generated from the application layer or the neighboringnode. The CCN layer may suppress the content request packet from beingtransmitted to the outside by enabling internal processing of thecontent request packet in the CS of the node, thereby reducingconsumption of radio resources.

Through content overhearing, the CCN layer may allow activation ofdistribution of network traffic by responding to the request from theneighboring device using the pre-cached content, instead of a contentowner.

A communication method of a node overhearing a content described in thefollowing may be equally applied to a wired network environment allowingoverhearing as well as a wireless network environment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method of a node in aCCN according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, in 410, a node according to an exemplary embodimentmay overhear a content transmitted from a neighboring node.

In 420, the node may cache, in a caching device, the content overheardin 410.

Generally, when the content is received before processing of the contentrequest packet in a CCN layer, the corresponding content may not becached in a CS. For example, when a content unmatched to an entry of aPIT is received, the CCN layer may disallow the corresponding contentfrom being cached in the CS.

In an exemplary embodiment, by expanding a function of the CS, thecontent may be pre-cached even though the content is received beforearrival of the content request packet. For example, in an exemplaryembodiment, even though the content unmatched to an entry of a PIT isreceived, the corresponding content may be temporarily stored. In thisexample, the content overheard in 420 may be cached in a CS or a cacheprovided separately for pre-caching.

The content pre-cached in 420 may correspond to a content for a specialpurpose of transmitting to a plurality of nodes, for example, unicasttraffic, broadcast traffic, or multicast traffic. For example, thecontent pre-cached in 420 may correspond to a content having aparticular transmission type. In a case in which the content istransmitted to the plurality of nodes via broadcast or multicast and areceiving node overhears the content in the CCN layer, transmissionperformance of broadcast or multicast may be improved.

In the future, when a content request packet generated from anapplication layer arrives at the CCN layer, the overheard and cachedcontent may be transmitted to the application layer immediately.Accordingly, limited radio resources may be saved because the contentrequest packet is processed internally rather than externally.

Also, when a request for the corresponding content is made from aneighboring node, the node in which the overheard content is cached mayprocess a content request packet locally rather than transmitting thecontent request packet to a content owner.

In 430, the node may receive the content request packet requesting theoverheard content.

In 440, the node may provide the overheard content to a node requestingthe corresponding content in response to receiving the content requestpacket.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method of a node in aCCN according to another exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, a node according to another exemplary embodimentmay overhear a content transmitted from a neighboring node in 510.

In 520, the node may filter the content overheard in 510, based on aname of the content. The content name for filtering in 520 may includeinformation associated with at least one of a location, a situation, anda service related to the content. The location related to the contentmay include, for example, a shopping mall, a classroom, and the like.The situation related to the content may include, for example,e-meeting. The service related to the content may include, for example,a communication service type such as a multicast traffic service and abroadcast traffic service as well as a sports game smart class.

According to an exemplary embodiment, high-quality high-capacitycontents, for example, a sports game, e-meetings, a smart class, and thelike, may be distributed even in an infra-less environment by using anoverheard content when providing a requested content.

According to exemplary embodiments, the content name for filtering mayinclude information associated with a period of time over which theoverheard content is cached or information associated with a period oftime over which the overheard content is cached in a particular space.For example, the name of the content for filtering may includeinformation enabling a content overheard during an e-meeting to bemaintained in a CS during the corresponding situation, that is, duringthe e-meeting.

In 530, the node may determine whether the name of the content overheardin 510 matches the content name for filtering in 520.

When the name of the overheard content is determined not to match thecontent name for filtering in 530, the node may forward the overheardcontent to a PIT of the node overhearing the content in 570.

When the name of the overheard content matches the content name forfiltering in 530, the node may forward the overheard content to andcache in a pre-caching module in 540.

After the node forwards the overheard content to and caches in thepre-caching module, the node may receive a content request packetrequesting the overheard content in 550.

In response to receiving the content request packet requesting theoverheard content, the node may provide the overheard content to a noderequesting the corresponding content in 560.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method of a node in aCCN according to still another exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 6, when a content overheard from a neighboring node ora content received from an upper layer, for example, an applicationlayer, arrives at a CCN in 610, a node according to still anotherexemplary embodiment may verify whether overlapping of the contentexists, using an overhearing module in 620.

In 620, the node may determine whether an entry matched to a name of theoverheard content is present in a management table. The management tablemay be included in the overhearing module, and may store entriesincluding a name of at least one content overheard from the neighboringnode or received from the application layer. The node may determinewhether to forward the overheard or received content based on a resultof the determination in 620. Hereinafter, the overheard content may beunderstood as including the content received from the upper layer.

When the entry matched to the name of the overheard content is presentin the management table in 620, the node may drop the overheard contentin 625 and may terminate the operation. The presence of the entrymatched to the name of the overheard content may imply that a presenceof a same content overheard previously. In this case, to reduce a wasteof network resources caused by caching the same content iteratively foreach layer, the overheard content may be dropped in 625.

When the entry matched to the name of the overheard content is absent inthe management table in 620, the node may control to forward theoverheard content to a pre-caching filter. The node may determinewhether the name of the overheard content matches a content name forfiltering using the pre-caching filter in 630.

When the name of the overheard content matches the content name forfiltering in 630, the node may pre-cache the overheard content using apre-caching module in 635 and may terminate the operation. The matchingof the name of the overheard content to the content name for filing in630 may imply that the overheard content corresponds to a content for apreset special purpose. In this case, the overheard contentcorresponding to the content for the preset particular purpose may bepre-cached. The particular purpose may include at least one of unicasttraffic, multicast traffic, and broadcast traffic.

When the name of the overheard content does not match the content namefor filtering in 630, the node may process the overheard content like anon-overheard content. The node may verify whether an entrycorresponding to the overheard content is present in a PIT in 640. Whenthe entry corresponding to the overheard content is present in the PITas a result of the verification in 640, the node may forward theoverheard content to a node requesting the corresponding content in 650.Also, the node may cache the overheard content in a CS in 650.

When the entry corresponding to the overheard content is absent in thePIT as the result of the verification in 640, the node may determinethat there is no node requesting the overheard content and may drop theoverheard content in 660.

The node according to an exemplary embodiment may overhear a contentrequest packet transmitted from a neighboring node as well as thecontent. The node may process the overheard content request packet inthe same method as the overheard content. The methods described throughFIGS. 4 through 6 may be equally applied to the content request packetoverheard by the node.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a node in a CCN according to anexemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, a node according to an exemplary embodiment mayinclude an overhearing module 710, a pre-caching filter 720, a CS 730, aPIT 740, and an FIB 750.

The overhearing module 710 may overhear a content transmitted from aneighboring node. The overhearing module 710 may include a managementtable 715 to store an entry including a name of at least one overheardcontent.

The overhearing module 710 may determine whether to forward theoverheard content, based on whether an entry matched to a name of theoverheard content is present in the management table 715. For example,the overhearing module 710 may suppress the overheard content from beingforwarded to a pre-caching module 735 when the entry matched to the nameof the overheard content is present in the management table 715. Whenthe entry matched to the name of the overheard content is absent in themanagement table 715, the overhearing module 710 may forward theoverheard content to the pre-caching module 735 or the pre-cachingfilter 720.

The pre-caching filter 720 may filter the overheard content based on thename of the content. When the name of the overheard content matches acontent name for filtering, the pre-caching filter 720 may forward theoverheard content to the pre-caching module 735. When the name of theoverheard content does not match the content name for filtering, thepre-caching filter 720 may forward the overheard content to the PIT 740.

The CS 730 may include the pre-caching module 735. The pre-cachingmodule 735 may cache the content overheard by the overhearing module710.

The pre-caching module 735 may cache the overheard content irrespectiveof whether the node receives a content request packet requesting theoverheard content.

The pre-caching module 735 may pre-cache the overheard content based onwhether the overheard content corresponds to a content for a particularpurpose. The particular purpose may include at least one of multicasttraffic and broadcast traffic.

For basic operations of the CS 730, the PIT 740, and the FIB 750,reference may be made to the description of FIG. 2.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the CCN layer may improvebroadcast and multicast efficiency by pre-caching, in the CS, the packetreceived through content overhearing and by performing internalprocessing of the content request packet generated from the applicationlayer or the neighboring node.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the CCN layer may suppress thecontent request packet from being transmitted externally by enablinginternal processing of the content request packet in the CS of the node,thereby reducing consumption of radio resources.

Also, the CCN layer may improve activation of distribution of networktraffic by responding to the request from the neighboring device usingthe content pre-cached through content overhearing, instead of a contentowner.

The methods described above may be recorded, stored, or fixed in one ormore non-transitory computer-readable storage media that includesprogram instructions to be implemented by a computer to cause aprocessor to execute or perform the program instructions. The media mayalso include, alone or in combination with the program instructions,data files, data structures, and the like. The media and programinstructions may be those specially designed and constructed, or theymay be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in thecomputer software arts. Examples of non-transitory computer-readablemedia include magnetic media such as hard discs, floppy discs, andmagnetic tape; optical media such as CD ROM discs and DVDs;magneto-optical media such as optical discs; and hardware devices thatare specially configured to store and perform program instructions, suchas read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, andthe like. Examples of program instructions include both machine code,such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level codethat may be executed by the computer using an interpreter. The describedhardware devices may be configured to act as one or more softwaremodules in order to perform the operations and methods described above,or vice versa. In addition, a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium may be distributed among computer systems connected through anetwork and non-transitory computer-readable codes or programinstructions may be stored and executed in a decentralized manner.

A number of examples have been described above. Nevertheless, it shouldbe understood that various modifications may be made. For example,suitable results may be achieved if the described techniques areperformed in a different order and/or if components in a describedsystem, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a differentmanner and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or theirequivalents. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope ofthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of communicating, comprising: detecting,at a content centric network (CCN) layer of a device operating in a CCN,content being transmitted from a first external device to a secondexternal device; storing the detected content in a content store (CS) ofthe CCN layer; identifying a content request generated by a thirdexternal device; determining whether a content name in the contentrequest corresponds to the content stored in the device; andtransmitting, via a wireless communication, the content to the thirdexternal device based at least in part on a determination that thecontent name in the content request corresponds to the content stored inthe device, wherein the detecting comprises receiving the detectedcontent before the device receives a content request corresponding tothe detected content.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detectingcomprises: receiving the content before the device generates a requestfor the content.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the storingcomprises: caching the content temporarily in memory operatively coupledwith the device.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the storingcomprises: storing the content based at least in part on a determinationthat the second external device includes at least two devices.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the storing comprises: storing the contentbased at least in part on a determination that a name of the detectedcontent includes specified information in relation with a location, asituation, or a service.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the name ofthe detected content comprises a period of time over which the detectedcontent is to be used, and wherein the storing comprises: storing thecontent during the period of time.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thestoring comprises: storing the content based at least in part on adetermination that history information with respect to the content isabsent in a management table.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetermining comprises: comparing the content request with the detectedcontent without using an internet protocol address.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the content request generated by the third externaldevice is transmitted from the third external device to the firstexternal device.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first externaldevice corresponds to an owner of the content.
 11. The method of claim1, wherein the CCN layer further comprises a pending interest table(PIT), and a forwarding information base (FIB), and the device transmitsthe content request to the CS, the PIT, and the FIB in a sequentialorder.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the device determines whetherthe content name is stored in the CS, and upon the content being absentin the CS, the device verifies whether the content name is stored isstored in the PIT.
 13. An electronic device, comprising: a communicationinterface capable of supporting a wireless communication in a contentcentric network (CCN); memory; and a processor configured to: detect, ina CCN layer of a device operating in the CCN, content being communicatedbetween a first external device and a second external device; receivethe detected content before the device receives a content requestcorresponding to the detected content; store the content in a contentstore (CS) of the CCN layer in the memory; receive a content requesttransmitted from a third external device; determine whether a contentname in the content request corresponds to the content stored in thememory; and transmit, using the communication interface, the content tothe third external device based at least in part on a determination thatthe content name in the content request corresponds to the contentstored in the memory.
 14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein theprocessor is configured to: receive, as at least part of the detecting,the content without a request for the content generated by theelectronic device.
 15. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein theprocessor is configured to: cache, as at least part of the storing, thecontent temporarily in the memory.
 16. The electronic device of claim13, wherein the processor is configured to: perform the storing based atleast in part on a determination that the second external deviceincludes at least two devices.
 17. The electronic device of claim 13,wherein the processor is configured to: perform the storing based atleast in part on a determination that a name of the detected contentincludes specified information in relation with a location, a situation,or a service.
 18. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the name ofthe detected content comprises a period of time over which the detectedcontent is used, and wherein the processor is configured to: delete thecontent from the memory after the period of time.
 19. The electronicdevice of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to: perform thestoring based at least in part on a determination that historyinformation with respect to the content is absent in a management table.20. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the content request istransmitted from the third external device to an owner device of thecontent.
 21. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein the processor isconfigured to: refrain from forwarding the content request to the ownerdevice of the content.
 22. A non-transitory machine-readable storagedevice storing instructions that, when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform operationscomprising: detecting, at a content centric network (CCN) layer of adevice operating in a CCN, content being transmitted from a firstexternal device to a second external device; storing the detectedcontent in a content store (CS) of the CCN layer; identifying a contentrequest generated by a third external device; determining whether acontent name in the content request corresponds to the content stored inthe device; and transmitting, via a wireless communication, the contentto the third external device based at least in part on a determinationthat the content name in the content request corresponds to the contentstored in the device.